Barbra Streisand A Homophobe?

Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. In Wednesday’s New York Times there is a piece about Kramer’s 30-year struggle to get his autobiographical play, “The Normal Heart” made into a movie. Believe it or not one roadblocks he faced was the homophobia of progressive icon and self-appointed expert on everything Barbra Streisand.

His efforts to get a movie made of “The Normal Heart” were delayed by jousting with Barbra Streisand, who had the film rights for years. He admitted to demanding “a lot of money” and that the story be told his way. Ms. Streisand has said she couldn’t raise the money; in Mr. Kramer’s telling, she also expressed discomfort about the subject of gay sex.

“I said, ‘I really think it’s important that after eons of watching men and women make love in the movies, it’s time to see two men do so,’ ” he said. “I bought her a book of very beautiful art pictures of two men making love, and she found it very distasteful.” In response, Ms. Streisand released a statement saying her intention for the movie was “to promote the idea of everyone’s right to love. Gay or straight!”

“Larry was at the forefront of this battle and, God love him, he’s still fighting,” she said. “But there’s no need to fight me by misrepresenting my feelings. As a filmmaker, I have always looked for new and exciting ways to do love scenes, whether they’re about heterosexuals or homosexuals. It’s a matter of taste, not gender.”

Referring to the gay couple at the center of “The Normal Heart,” she added: “I was trying to reach a large audience, and I wanted them to root for these two men to get married.”

What I find most interesting is if Ms Streisand were a conservative and made the same declaration there would be a international boycott of everything Barbra.

Become a Lid Insider

Sign up for our free email newsletter, and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop.